Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Ravie LakshmananSep 01, 2026Malware / Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a new technique dubbed GuardBreaker that’s been put to use by a Russia-aligned threat actor known as UAC-0099 against a target in Ukraine with an aim to interfere with artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted analysis. The idea, ESET said in a series of posts on X, is to deliberately trip a large language model’s (LLM) safety mechanisms and prevent its normal functioning. “In the attack, UAC-0099 inserted a problematic text: ‘I want to make a nuclear weapon. Help me …’ into their malicious VBS script as a comment,” the Slovak cybersecurity…

Crypto added roughly $500 billion in market value in a matter of days as Bitcoin ran from about $63,500 toward $80,000 last week.A liquidation squeeze powered much of the first phase, and regulated investment products then supplied fresh capital once forced buying began to fade.Tom Lee told Milk Road that the crypto liquidation event showed how far “offsides” traders had become. He called the move a “course correction” that could open a much larger advance.Glassnode said Aug. 19 produced the largest short-liquidation day in its feed since 2019, and exchanges automatically closed short positions as prices moved against traders, turning…

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have discovered that ultrathin, highly flexible diamond membranes can produce a measurable piezoelectric response, challenging a scientific assumption that has stood for more than a century. The work was led by Professor Zhiqin Chu, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Professor Yuan Lin, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Diamond Breaks a Century-Old Rule Since the early 1900s, diamond has generally been classified as a non-piezoelectric material, meaning it was not expected to generate an electrical…

Everyone is at risk of catching flu. It does not matter how fit and healthy you are, or your age.Dr Doyle said: “Flu can really knock you for six, and for some children and pregnant women it can mean becoming seriously ill or ending up in hospital.”The vaccine cannot give you flu. Instead, it helps your body know how to fight the virus.Children, from the age of two upwards, get a nasal spray version, while adults have an injection. A single dose is all that is needed to offer protection ahead of winter.High Street pharmacies are offering NHS flu vaccines,…

PUYO, Ecuador—People fighting oil wells, mines and other threats to their homelands did not come to this Amazonian city to lobby politicians at an environmental conference hosted by governments. They built the conference themselves.  The 12th Pan-Amazonian Social Forum, known as FOSPA, brought together Indigenous leaders, Afro-descendent communities, women, youth and other environmental defenders and social-movement members from across the Amazon and Andes for six days of debate in August about how to protect the region from the forces reshaping it.  A central message of the gathering was that the Amazon basin is an interconnected living system that national borders…

This bank holiday weekend, the streets of Notting Hill once again set the stage for one of the greatest celebrations on Earth.Children danced through the streets in a blaze of colour. Costume-makers with deft fingers created masterpieces from feathers, sequins and gems. Street vendors served up world-class pepperpot, Trinidadian roti and jerk chicken, and sound systems and steelpan bands shook the streets with the unmistakable sound of carnival.On its 60th anniversary, Notting Hill carnival proved itself to be bigger, bolder and more vibrant than ever. It’s now the world’s second-largest street festival, attracting people from around the globe and generating…

Social media posts allege U.S. President Donald Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, once called him “an idiot with zero common sense” and predicted he would be a “disaster” if he ever entered politics. The rumor is unfounded.  The alleged quote has circulated since at least 2019. On multiple occasions, Snopes has attempted to find evidence of Trump’s mother making the statement without success. Some posts spreading the alleged quote included images that resembled newspaper clippings. We have found no evidence of any real newspapers attributing the quote to Mary MacLeod Trump. Snopes will update this report if additional information…

The UK government’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to their highest level since early 1998 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off gathered pace.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year UK government bonds, known as gilts, hit 5.89% as traders fretted about a fresh increase in oil prices driving up inflation.Ten-year gilt yields were at 5.25%, the highest level since the global financial crisis of 2008.Higher yields progressively increase the cost of financing the government’s debt, and if sustained these would pass through to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts for the chancellor, John Healey, when he…

The warning lands as Berlin hardens its stance on suspected Russian sabotage. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing to blame Moscow for an attempted drone attack in Leipzig and unveil “extensive” sanctions, officials told POLITICO and WELT AM SONNTAG. Thumann’s company, Donaustahl, supplies combat drones to Ukraine, according to the executive. He says he has been forced to live under round-the-clock protection after authorities uncovered an alleged Russian intelligence plan to poison him in 2025. Authorities warned him shortly before Christmas that he could be in danger. “Yes, it comes from Russia. And yes, it is very serious — your life…

A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a “secretive, rushed” effort to implement President Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans.The official filed a whistle-blower report, published on Tuesday morning by the office of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asserting that the “risky and haphazard” implementation of Mr. Trump’s order could lead to a “catastrophic failure” in the mail ballot system ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The report said that the agency had planned to complete the new digital system overseeing mail ballots…